Rockets’ free agent target Carmelo Anthony opts out of contract

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Melo, right, has opted out of his contract for next season, will LeBron follow suit? (Frank Franklin II/Associated Press)

The Rockets’ top free agent target has another week to decide if he will be a free agent, but target 1A as expected will be on the market.

All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony has told the Knicks he will as expected opt out of his contract to become a free agent, a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed on Sunday while the Rockets continued preparations to pursue him.

LeBron James would be their top target, but he has another week before he would have to decide whether to opt out of the remainder of his deal with the Heat.

Anthony’s decision has long been expected, with Anthony open about his plans to become a free agent this offseason. He has not indicated that he planned to leave the Knicks, but his emphasis on finding a situation in which he is more likely to be a part of a contender could lead him to moving on with the Knicks limited in ways to improve a lottery team. They do not have cap room this summer and do not have a pick in Thursday’s draft.

The Knicks can, however, offer a much larger contract than other teams. Anthony’s max contact with the Knicks would be worth $129.1 million over five years. Other teams may not offer more than $95.9 million over four years.

The Rockets would have a difficult time giving Anthony his max, starting at nearly $22.5 million in the first year. By choosing to not pick up their options on several players and moving Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, their highest paid players after James Harden and Dwight Howard, they could carve out much of the cap room they would need, though not Anthony’s max. Because of contract matching rules, they could come closer in a sign-and-trade if Anthony and Knicks would agree to such a deal.

Asik and Lin are heading into the final season of their contracts worth roughly $15 million next season, though they count just $8.3 million each against a salary cap. As expiring contracts, the Knicks could add them to their already high-priced roster and still have ample cap room next summer.

After trade talks with a variety of teams around the league, the Rockets have long been confident that they could move Asik and Lin if necessary to create cap space because unlike their efforts to deal Asik during the season, they would not be seeking comparable talent in return.

The Bulls are expected to be the frontrunners to land Anthony if he leaves New York. Like the Rockets, the Bulls would have to offload several contracts, starting with making Carlos Boozer an amnesty cut, to make a competitive contract offer to Anthony. He could also receive overtures from the Lakers and Mavericks and even the Heat, if James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are willing to opt out of their deals and agree to considerable discounts on their contracts to add a fourth star.